SMALL, SUCKING BUGS INJURING THE LEAVES 311 



after a time the larva feeding within cuts out the infested area bodily 

 and carries it to a twig or branch, where it uses it as a shelter until the 

 following spring. There is one brood annually. 



A winter spra3nng with lime-sulphur solution or other strong con- 

 tact insecticide will kill the overwintering form. 



The Four-lined Leaf-bug {Poecilocapsus lineatus Fab.) 



A sucking bug, about half an inch long, with four short black stripes 

 on its back, sometimes injures the leaves of currants, gooseberries, or 

 other plants by its feeding punc- 

 tures. Spots where the bug has 

 been feeding turn brow^n, and 

 sink a little below the level of 

 the leaf. In time the entire 

 foliage, or that toward the tips 

 of the twigs, may be killed. 



In early spring, when first 

 hatched, the bugs are very 

 small, bright red, and have no 

 wings. They feed on only the 

 tenderest terminal foliage. They become full grown in June, and 

 the female lays eggs in slits cut in the stems of the food plants. In 

 the North there is one generation, hibernation taking place in the 

 egg stage; in the Southern states there may be a second brood. 



The young nymphs may be killed with a contact insecticide, such 

 as 10 per cent kerosene emulsion. The adults are best destroyed by 

 brushing them from the plants into pans containing a film of kerosene. 

 It is difficult or impossible to control the adults by spraying. 



The Grape Leaf-hopper ( Typhloctjba comes Say) 

 Tiny, active insects suck the juices from grape leaves, making 



numerous very small white spots. If attack is severe, the leaves 



shrivel, turn brown, and die. 



The adult insect is one tenth of an inch long, light yellowish in 



color, with green markings on its wings. It has strong legs, jumps 



Fig. 477. — The Four-lined Leaf -bug. 

 Enlarged and natural size. Original. 



